Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-05-14

Lake Biwa has been made Tor tourists a
thing of the past, for the screeching engine
carries them through tunnel and over tres
tie. and places them in Otsu without giving |
q glimpse of the pretty country. With |
merry farewells and good wishes from my |
host and his people, | hurried away at a |!
lively pace behind the best runner | have |
yet had, in way which bid fair to bring
me to the lake quite as quickly as the train
would which | Lad scorned. The Tokaido
all the way is a magnificent road, with
stone entertainments, cutters and cross
drains equal to any have ever seen. The
traffic which passes over it is enormous,
and the multitudes of home-returning
peasants from the Kioto holiday made
rapid progress soon come to a stop. At
the foot of Hi-no-oke hill, which rises
two hundred feet in abrupt incline, had
my first human tandem equipage; the sec
ond man harnessed himself to the front of
the hur1tma with cords, and ran Just before
the man between the shafts. ] have often
had two men but one has always been
pusher The summit was soon reached
with the aid of four legs; but when /
reached it | wished we had not done so
well, for the mans chest heaved as though
it would burst, and could note each beat
ing of his heart, while blood came from hrs
lips and nostrils. 1t was, indeed, very
horrible sight, and / shall never again al
low the men to exert themselves to such an
extent. They often deceive me, know,
by feigned fatigue, but that is surely better
than that any animal should suifer-be he
four or two or one legged. From the
ia 80 hill of and -
which formerly marked the boundary of
the province of Ozaka, the road descends
to Otsu, giving fine glimpses of the lake be-
tween tall pines, and finally, as the pictur-
esque town is reached, one sees between
the brown houses the lovely Biwa.
THE LAKE AND SURROUNDINGS.
Two hundred and eighty-six years before
| the Christian era there was a fearful earth
quake in Japan, during which Fuji-yama
is said to have risen and at the same time
| the lake of Biwa disappeared. The origi-
nal name of the lake is Omi but some one
with vivid Imagination renamed it Biwa,
| thinking it resembled in shape the 6iwa,
the native banjo. The lake is $50 feet
! above the sea and the same number of feet
in depth.
In japanese literature eight specified
beauties of Biwa are mentioned, only one
of which l had the opportunity of seeing,
| and that was the sailboats returning from
Yabase. 1t was pretty picture, but num-
| Der OF boats with white sails spread would
be anywhere quite as beautiful. l rather
think, though, that the poets refer to those
| ily-decorated pleasure boats which are
seen in midsummer, SO possibly have not
seen even one of the eight. The other
seven are the moon in autumn from lshi-
yama, the snow in moonlight on Thira-
81 i - -
| Seta, clear day with white caps at AwadZu,
the geese lighting at Katada and the rain
falling at Karasaki at night. Karasaki is
| point near Otsu, where stands
THE FAMOUS PINE TREE,
Said to have been planted as long ago as
the days of the first Emperor, but whether
or not it does not matter, the tree without
any history at all is a great wonder
gnarled and broken trunk rises to the hight,
should say, of about twenty feet and from
! it branches grow in every direction, propped
| upon poles or piles of cut stones. These
branches, some of them fully a hundred
feet long, bear fine green needle. One
branch / noticed had grown along for ten
feet or so and had then grown into another
branch in such way that it would be diff
| ficuit 10 tell in which direction its sap had
run. 1t is upon this tree at Karasaki when
the rain falls at night that beautiful music
| is said to be produced by the drops falling
| from branch to branch and then upon the
ground and the water of the lake, for some
of the branches extend good distance
over the water. Some day | suppose crowds
| of tourists will come here in the rain at
night TO enjoy this beauty of Omi, and
am curious to know what tune the good
old tree will play as it lets the water drop
upon silk umbrellas and rubber rain-coats
The temple of Mii-dera is upon a hill
just back of the town, and commands a
fine view of the lake, which seems ever to
be changing from green to blue and back
again. Here is a smooth, granite obelisk,
quite unlike anything japanese, which was
raised to the memory of the men who fell
i'll the Satsuma rebellion. The temporary
gateway was very pretty, being made of a
great many large bamboo stocks bound
together with taIred ropes and having the
appearance of the fasces of old Rome.
BELL THAT TALKED.
The bell is here, and has quite an inter
esting mythical history, the oldest story OF
all being the one which accounts for the
scratches visible upon its sides The priests
OF neighboring monastery stole it once
and carried it to their place in the mount
aims. but every time it was struck it called
out in loud tones, ." wish to go home to
Mii-dera!" and echo carried the sound
everywhere, until the priests, in anger,
hurled the bell down the mountain side,
when it received the scratches. 1t was
found by its rightful owners, and ceased at
once its plaintive, home sick cry.
The monastery was founded in the
eighth century, but of course was DESTROYED
by fire several times, like everything else,
but they still have intact the room occu-
pied by the greatest female author of
Japan. during the writing of her romances,
CENT? Monogatari," and show the slate
slab used by her for holding ink Her
name, Murasaki Shikibu, is known to all
readers of japanese history, for her bool;
had great influence over all people, and is
read to this day.
THE GREATEST SURPRISE
Thus far to me was the discovery of an
electric-bell in the room at my hotel which
gave me great pleasure, for l had already
clapped my hands into blister in calling
servants in the usual japanese manner.
The most agreeable part of japanese art
in interior decoration is its simplicity ;
in my room are a dozen slabs OF white
wood set in the upper part of the wall
above the sliding doors, few little holes
have been cut in them. AT first did not
see any design, and looked at them ouly as
ventilators, but after a while the sky show
ing behind these holes turned them into
the white sails of ships, and the grain OF
the wood became water, which rolled IN
long waves toward the shore. Others were
birds flying among clouds. | wish the peo-
pie as well would show better on longer
acquaintance. CHARLES A. GUNNIsoN
What a Copyright Covers.
What does a copyright Govern is a
question which so far has not been salts
fncfnrilr ansunred haca ,nSo IL l,nr ,,ot -.